Tax scam

November 17, 2017Letters to the Editor

Hey, fellow Butler Countians, did you hear about the big tax cut coming our way? Our Congressman, Mike Kelly, ensured we won’t have to pay the estate tax anymore when he voted on tax reform last week. One problem: this only benefits millionaires like Kelly and President Donald Trump.

I’ll be left out; how about you?

Corporate taxes will be cut dramatically, but the chances that those benefits will reach workers in the form of higher wages or new jobs are slim.

We’ll all share equally in another cut, though: the House bill repeals tax deductions for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Whether you’re in a nursing home, being treated for a chronic condition, or raising a child with special needs, the high cost of care will not be tax deductible.

A close reading of the bill finds other repeals, like deductions for state and local taxes, interest on college loans, moving expenses, and many more.

We were promised big, beautiful tax cuts by the president. I’m not rich enough to see the beauty, I suppose. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the House bill gives the top 1 percent a $129,030 tax cut in 2018 compared to $660 for the middle 20 percent of American families. Millions of families get no cut at all. This inequality will widen further as time goes by.

Republicans are looking to steamroll a tax bill through Congress before Thanksgiving, with no time for the public to understand it. This tells me that the tax plan is nothing but a scam.

I’ve paid taxes my whole life and think that Mike Kelly, as my representative, should be prioritizing middle class constituents like me and my family. Not the wealthy. Before final votes are casthe should stand up for regular people from his district and oppose any new tax cuts for the rich.